Wrestling Globe Newsletter by Mike Aldren – All the latest professional wrestling news, gossip and occasional opinion direct to your mailbox.
WGN is read by industry power players, many top wrestlers and thousands of fans from all around the world.

Mysterio-Bourne was match of the night. Lot’s of high flying spots and near falls. Jericho-Steamboat was said to be at the level of their Backlash match. Lot’s of mat-based wrestling which the fans were respectful of. Punk-Hardy was basically weapons match using garbage cans, kendo sticks, a table, a ladder and a chair. This was said to be a better main event than the night before and the crowd gave them a standing ovation after the match. Both shows in Toyko both drew around 4000 although WWE is claiming much more than that. On the first night Jericho-Mysterio went 25 minutes with Ricky Steamboat as referee. After the match Jericho got in the face of Yoshihiro Takayama (All-Japan triple crown winner) who was sitting ringside.

Both crews are on their way home and have a much needed weekend off ahead of the TV tapings in Orlando on Monday.

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The Southtown Star at http://tinyurl.com/mcrcny had a big article on Hulk Hogan to promote his appreciation day event on Friday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. Interesting read to say the least. He talked about having two recent back surgeries as well as knee and hip replacements. As for getting back in the ring, he said: “I’m dying to do it. I’m dying to get in there. To me, it’s fun to get in there. There has to be a talented wrestler willing to slow dance with me. I could go out there and pretty much do almost everything I could do before. I couldn’t do the leg drop anymore because of my lower back. I could go out and have fun. It’s going to take more time to see if I can get steady enough to even attempt something like that.” He said his dream match would be against either Ric Flair or Steve Austin.

On Austin, who won’t ever wrestle again because of the risk serious injury, Hogan said: “I think [Austin] thinks he’s God’s gift to wrestling. It would be a tremendous match for the fans. If he can get on the same page with me and put ego out of the way, who cares who wins? It would be a match people would love to see.” He said he still watches WWE and also keeps a close eye on TNA, putting them over for lasting seven years, and perhaps hinting that he would be open to going there: “TNA is lacking that one momentum-shifting move, that one big name that would even the playing field, the brand (that is) just as powerful as the WWE brand. [TNA’s] lacking the big piece of the puzzle. It wouldn’t matter who did what in the past. It will be a totally even playing field. You never know.” He also talked about his celebrity wrestling reality show saying that he is talking to CMT about bring the show back, but it hangs on the budget being drastically reduced.

On a related note, Warehouse 13, the new show on SyFy that bumped ECW to Thursday, will have a guest cameo by Hogan in the season finale, according to producer Jack Kenny.

The preliminary estimate for Judgement Day on 5/17 in Chicago is 221,000 buys. Last year’s same show finished at 251,000 so they will probably hit the same mark. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad, but probably leaning towards the latter as Mexico, as a new market, has given the company a huge boost in terms of PPV. They don’t release international break downs so we’ll never know. The show was headlined by Jeff Hardy vs. Edge for the World title; Randy Orton vs. Batista for the WWE title, plus John Cena vs. Big Show; and Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho for the IC title.

John Laurinaitis called Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy) within the last week.
He told him he can take any bookings he wants before his 90 days is up.
The only rule is he can’t work for TNA or Ring of Honor. TNA have already been in touch with him and he is expected to start there as soon as he can.

Raw on Monday night did a 3.6 rating down from last weeks 3.9.

WWE just released the line ups for their September Smackdown shows in France. As expected no Edge and more interestingly no Jeff Hardy, which seems to indicate the inevitable, that Hardy is leaving in the next few weeks. According to those who would know Jeff is apparently “counting down the days” until his contract expires so he can take an extended break from wrestling. The top match in France is CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio, plus Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy, Kane, Great Khali, John Morrison, Finlay, Tommy Dreamer, Christian, Michelle McCool and Melina.
I would also expect Undertaker back for this tour. (Thanks to Jeremy Chevallier of www.fnlutte.com)

The Smackdown/ECW announcers — Ross, Grisham, Striker and Matthews — are at the WWE studios in Connecticut today doing voice over work for Thurday’s Superstars and Friday’s Smackdown shows that were taped last week.

Jerry Lawler confirmed today he will run for Mayor of Memphis.

Gerald Brisco’s heart surgery is expected to take place tomorrow.

Ted DiBiase Jr. is getting his shoulder checked out when he arrives back in the United States. Those who would know say the knock isn’t serious but he hasn’t worked a regular match on the overseas tour since 7/4 in Sydney. He took part in a battle royal in Brisbane a couple of nights later but didn’t take any bumps.

ECW newcomer Tyler Reks is working through a knee injury.

There is an eerie coincidence concerning Edge’s injury in San Diego at the Sport Arena. The prior two WWE events at that building in 2008 saw Randy Orton break his collarbone and Evan Bourne suffer ligament damage to his foot.

WWE.com put up graphic photos of Edge’s surgery with Dr. James Andrews.
Its interesting that WWE is acknowledging the injury this week as Edge has a run-in on Friday’s Smackdown.

WWE and Sky TV in Italy have reached a new deal to keep WWE programming in the country for another three years. Superstars will debut next week and Smackdown will now air in full where as before they only got a one-hour edited version of the show.

Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen is “best buddies” with John Cena, according to a report at DigitalSpy.co.uk.

Aerosmith’s You Gotta Move track will be the official theme song for SummerSlam at Staples Center. The band play the same building two days before WWE comes to town but its unlikely they would perform as the night of the PPV they have another gig in Irvine.

Invincible by Adelitas Way, the theme song for Superstars, debuted at No. 36 on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock list.

The Hudson Valley Journal at http://tinyurl.com/rauqdk has a story on Tommy Dreamer. Story is basically local kid makes good.

A couple of WWE music-related spots. During the Michael Jackson tour rehearsal footage that CNN obtained around the 25 second mark they play Jerry Lawler’s entrance music. You can watch the footage at http://tinyurl.com/mqvy95. Also, one reader sent word that CBS played Paul Burchill’s music during a commercial for Judge Judy.

WWE has changed Lance Hoyt’s name in FCW to Lance Archer. Someone in creative found out and has suggested a Robin Hood gimmick.

TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION WRESTLING NEWS

There is an interview with Kurt Angle at http://tinyurl.com/ly3fj6
talking about how he wants to become the new Dwayne Johnson: “Lots of
people love wrestlers and wrestling, but they don’t realize that there
are a lot of wrestlers that can crossover and make that transition. They
don’t take them seriously as actors. When you look at the WWE and TNA
you can pick out a handful of guys that are actually that good. I think
Hollywood is starting to look at that, and with Vince McMahon’s WWE
Films…that has opened up avenues for wrestlers to do movies and TV. I
think Dwayne Johnson definitely has helped. Obviously guys like Hulk
Hogan and Macho Man had key roles in big movies, but as far as a full
time actor, Dwayne has been the one and only. I’d like to be the second
one to have the success that he has. How many guys can say that they
have had a movie come out the first week and been number one more than
once? I think he has done it two or three times. Hopefully, God willing,
I can do the same in the future.” He talked about the movie he just shot
in Pittsburgh called Warrior where he plays a Russian MMA fighter. For
the role he said he took accent classes to learn how to sound Russian.

On his current relationship with Vince McMahon, he said: “I had some bad
feelings because of the way I left WWE. When I thought about it, and my
behavior, I then realized Vince McMahon really wasn’t at fault, it was
really me. I have always extended my hand out to Vince, and told him
that I was wrong, I am sorry. I had to make a decision, I am not sorry
that I joined TNA. I know that he is happy for me. I am living much
healthier now. I love Vince. I always will. It was time for me to leave
and I think Vince knew or he would have never released me. I had 5 years
left, he had me. There was nothing I could do. He had enough courage to
take that initial step and release me. When he did, I respected him
more. All I had to do was go back and say I want my job back. Instead I
went to TNA, ready to start a new chapter in my life. Do I regret it?
No. Do I regret not working for Vince? Sometimes. I miss it, I don’t
regret it. I miss the comradery we had, and miss some of the ideas Vince
had. He’s smart, he’s a genius. I serve a much bigger purpose in a
company that is on the verge of being another WWE. It’s smaller but it
has a lot of potential. At the same time I am making my dream of
becoming an actor come true. I am very grateful to God that I am in my
position. I don’t think I could be in a much better position right now.
So, I am really content.”

The future of the TNA video game hangs in the balance. If Midway doesn’t
find a buyer for the game in the next couple of months the project will
be axed for good. Warner Brothers just acquired Midway but the game
wasn’t included in the deal.

TNA is among the sponsors at the San Diego Comic Con on 7/24. They will
be setting up a ring on the roof of the Hard Rock Cafe and sending Kurt
Angle, Daniels, Suicide, and The Motor City Machine Guns to make
appearances. Tickets for Comic Con have been sold out for two months.

Taylor Wilde is doing an interview today with TSN’s Off The Record in
Toronto.

Jenna Morasca has a cameo tonight on E! True Hollywood Story: Baseball
Wives. She is friends with Heidi Hamels, the wife of Philadelphia
Phillies player Cole Hamels, who were filmed at a TNA show. Morasca and
Hamels were on Survivor together.

Former referee Rudy Charles wrote a blog on his Myspace about TNA
releasing him: “As many of you have now heard, I was recently informed
by TNA Wrestling that I was being let go. While I could easily cast
blame and be angry at the circumstances, that is not how I want to
handle the situation. As a company, TNA is free to run their business as
they see fit.” He talked about exploring options outside of wrestling
but will continue to work indy shows where he can. He said: “As an avid
fan and listener of Dave Ramsey, I have followed the financial
principles that he teaches and have been debt free since 2005. Through
this and through my faith in God, I know that I am going to be okay.
While some may blame these tough economic times for their woes, I will
not. The words when one door closes, another will open ring true.”

Jacqueline Moore was also let go this past week.

A 3-disc DVD set on AJ Styles is in the works. This would be similar to
the deal with Jeff Jarrett including a feature length documentary.

Jeremy Borash at http://tinyurl.com/m4kj6q posted a video of Scott
Steiner setting himself on fire from fireworks during July 4th
celebrations.

Taz sent out a message on his Twitter claiming he would be the guest GM
at Raw next week in Orlando. Of course it was a rib but some websites
fell for it. A few hours later he sent out another message saying:
“Damm, it was just a JOKE! WWE did NOT ask me host Raw for a week! Now
my lawyer can eat his Tuna Fish Sandwich & his Mango Juice in peace!”

Jim Cornette‘s book signing that was scheduled for Saturday in Glen
Burnie, MD has been canceled, and he will instead do the signing at an
MCW event that night at The New Green Room in Dundalk. More info atwww.marylandwrestling.com.

OTHER WRESTLING NEWS

I caught an episode of Brooke Knows Best on VH-1. My girlfriend loves
this show while I try to avoid it like the plague. They did an angle
where a hip-hop artist named Colby O’Donis came to Miami to record a
track with Brooke. He pretended to want to date her and of course Hulk
was there to break his face in case he put his hands on her. Brooke took
him inner-tubbing and she “accidentally” lost her bikini bottoms. At
this point I gave up and went to the gym.

There is a video at TMZ.com with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kim
Kardashian eyeing each other up while they waited for their cars in Los
Angeles. The Rock is currently single, while Kim isn’t.

Amy “Lita” Dumas and her band The Luchagors will be performing live on
Thursday night at Eamon Doran’s in Dublin, Ireland.

Muscle and Body Magazine at http://tinyurl.com/lagnut has an interview
with JBL. He told a great story about wrestling a bear back in college:
“Well, the bear was coming to town, and a bunch of guys had talked to me
and goaded me into it. I finally said, “Yes, I’ll wrestle the bear,” and
I honestly forgot about it. They signed me up and had it booked, me
against the brown bear. It almost killed me. The thing went ballistic:
they had to pull me out from under it; they had to hit it over the head
with a rod; the trainer was shaking. It was like something out of
National Geographic. I wish I had a video of it. It was an absolute
mauling.” He added: “It was 8 1/2 feet tall and 800 lb. I was expecting
a bear that was 300 lb, and I was at about 300 lb myself, so that didn’t
bother me. Then I saw the pictures and realized that I was getting into
the ring with a zoo animal.” I’ve heard a lot of stories about guys
wrestling bears over the years, including Bruno Sammartino and Lou Thez,
but the bears always win. JBL is on the cover on the mag with Torrie
Wilson, which is given away at Vitamin Shoppe stores.

Bret Hart is traveling to the UK this weekend. He will be appearing for
a Q&A in Sheffield on Saturday and has two book signings in Scotland on
Sunday. He has also just signed on to work the next American Wrestling
Rampage tour in November with multiple dates in Germany. More info atwww.brethart.com.

The Washington Post at http://tinyurl.com/msl6kx has a story on New York
Congressman Peter King who made a Youtube video bashing the media for
its coverage of Michael Jackson’s death. Apparently he got a ton of heat
for his comments and Boss Hog Calhoun, the 500lb grandson of legendary
wrestler Haystack Calhoun, has offered to became his bodyguard. I swear
I am not making this up.

Torrie Wilson said she will be taping a workout DVD in August. There is
also a video interview at http://tinyurl.com/kk9kfd with Torrie talking
about competing in the World Series Of Poker. I believe she was knocked
out on the first day in a sick three-way pot.

Lance Storm at www.stormwrestling.com blogged about a recent ankle
injury. The Miami Herald at http://tinyurl.com/m8jbhk has a story on
Storm returning to the ring for ROH. Couple of good stories in there,
including talk about the Rise & Fall of ECW DVD and how the TNA creative
team (Vince Russo) used to email him for feedback on their shows, but
they stopped emailing him after he gave them honest feedback.

Superstar Billy Graham will be part of Terry Funk’s comedy roast on
10/23 in Monroe, NJ. Others listed as appearing are Mick Foley, Bill
Apter, New Jack, Kevin Sullivan, Mike Graham (son of Eddie) and comedian
Ryan Maher. Dennis “I’m not booked” Stamp will also be there who you may
remember from the Barry Blaustein movie, Beyond The Mat. He was the guy
who got upset because Funk didn’t book him for his retirement show in
Amarillo and later ended up being the referee between Funk and Bret
Hart.

Rey Misterio Sr. (Rey’s uncle) underwent emergency surgery over the
weekend after he fell in his house. Doctors have wanted him to have the
surgery since he injured himself last year. The operation went well and
he is currently in stable condition.